PULP ROMANCE

As film dates go, taking Miss X to see 'Pulp Fiction' when we were just teenagers felt like a promotion to the big league.  

If we'd gone instead to see 'Wagons East', 'The Flinstones' or 'The Little Rascals' I imagined my stock would have instantly plummeted in her affections such was the precarious trial I was being put through at the time. But we went to see 'Pulp Fiction', and so, taking the most glamorous girl at college to see the coolest film of the decade felt like one of the biggest wins you could score. Not that I was relying on Tarantino's natural flair for dialogue and filmmaking to assist my love life though it undoubtedly helped for a brief moment. In fact, sadly it's more likely I peaked too soon by taking the girl in question to see his iconic 1994 classic movie and thus any development between myself and Miss X subsequently felt like an anti-climax as I wasn't able to replicate the buzz of what was our second date.

Well, what did I expect? We'd kind of had our minds blown with this larger than life, non-linear narrative triptych that combined comic book violence with noir-like characters in a sunny Los Angeles setting reminiscent of the best American films from the 1970s and 1980s. With a soundtrack including Al Green, Chuck Berry and The Lively Ones, it was a tough, tough act to follow.

In fact, every trip we made after 'Pulp' felt like a failure as if I'd made the films personally and Miss X was some Hollywood exec giving me the Commodus-like thumbs up or thumbs down regarding my movie selection. It culminated tragically with one ominous choice of film, that of 'Leaving Las Vegas' which emphatically sounded the death knell for any hope of us having a long term relationship. Watching Nicholas Cage drink himself to death in Mike Figgis's gritty alcoholic drama really gave me no place to hide.

Still, for that brief moment in the October of '94, like the sun shining on Castle Camelot, I was able to at least claim the title of taking the hottest girl in my year to see the coolest film of the age and though it may be only of small significance now, I'll always thank Quentin for helping me punch above my weight.

And that slight sting of rejection I felt back then?

Well, that was just pride fucking with me.

Happy Birthday QT!

Digital Renegade

March 27th, 2023